


Empty Night

by AzraelTheStoryteller



Series: UNIQ [1]
Category: Under Night In-Birth (Video Game), 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, Gen, black magic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25994794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzraelTheStoryteller/pseuds/AzraelTheStoryteller
Summary: There were spots of even deeper darkness facing him - malevolent eyes, too many of them, taking his measure.They found him wanting.He took a shaking breath, and found that he could scream.When Izuku Midoriya's best friend runs off into the night, he does the natural thing and follows. But he ends up biting off more than he can chew - almost literally.
Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Uraraka Ochako
Series: UNIQ [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1886701
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Empty Night

_ A weary, filthy traveler appeared one day at the outskirts of a small village in rural Japan. The villagers, despite his repeated warnings that he had nothing to offer in return, welcomed him into their humble dwellings, laying out a great feast for the traveller to partake in and drawing up a bath for him to wash the sweat and dirt from his body. In his gratitude, the traveller introduced himself as the “Hollow God” and showed them a mysterious power that he called “Existence”. Upon being asked by a villager whether anyone could learn it, he smiled, and slapped the asker on the back. The villager fell unconscious, but when he awoke, he, too, could use the power of Existence. Before long, there were more villagers who could use Existence than those who couldn’t. _

_ But the Hollow God only stayed in the village for a few days. After passing on his teachings, he took a stroll out of the small village, and never returned. _

* * *

Deep breaths. In, out, in, out - oh who was he kidding there was no way he was going to be calm.

Izuku Midoriya looked up at the towering structure called Kanzakai High, willing himself not to hyperventilate and mostly succeeding. Nothing to be nervous about, right? Just a new school where nobody knew him - where nobody knew about his history of being tormented by his childhood friend-turned-bully.

Which to Izuku’s panicked mind meant a new place to screw up and get bullied again. After all, he was hardly the picture of social grace.

He took a step forward, but a loose stone tripped him up and suddenly the ground was approaching far faster than it had any right to.

Or coordination, apparently. He braced himself for an embarrassing spill, mentally resigning himself to being a laughingstock at his new school, too - 

Suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from the side.The person they were attached to staggered a little as Izuku’s deadweight pressed against them, but the boy realized what was happening and scrambled to regain his footing, instinctively wrapping his arms around his savior as he did so.

The ungainly duo stabilized and Izuku breathed out a sigh of relief. He turned to get a good look at his rescuer -

“That could have been really bad, are you okay?”

And seized up again as he registered several facts at once.

Fact one. The person who had saved him was a girl.

Fact two. The person who had saved him, who was a girl, was quite possibly the  _ prettiest girl he’d ever seen. _ Chocolate-brown hair in a bob cut, huge brown eyes, rosy cheeks, and a smile so bright he had to resist the urge to look away.

Fact three. The person who had saved him, who was quite possibly the prettiest girl he’d ever seen, was  _ talking to him. _

Oh nononononononononono-

The girl, or possibly angel, tilted her head quizzically at his statue impression. “Uh, are you doing okay? You look like you’re about to pass out...do you want to go to the nurse?”

At that notion - specifically the notion of causing trouble for someone who had already helped him once - his frozen vocal cords finally sprang into action. “Nononono - well I mean yes I’m fine, and no I don’t want to go to the nurse I’m so sorry I’m really clumsy I need to watch where I’m going I hope I didn’t hurt you-”

The girl giggled, stopping his heart for the third time in as many minutes. “Breathe. Well, I’m glad you’re okay, but I have to get to homeroom. See you around!”

And she advanced into the building with a cheery wave, leaving Izuku behind to process the fact that he had hugged and talked to an actual real life  _ girl _ .

Of course, failure that he was, he hadn’t even gotten her  _ name _ ...Oh well, not like she’d voluntarily want to put herself in his presence after this. Who’d want to be friends with mister trips-on-air over here?

But still, a part of him savored that memory as he made his way to homeroom.

“1-A, 1-A, 1-A - finally!”

This school’s layout was  _ confusing _ . Luckily he made it in right before the bell, sliding into a seat in the back corner, next to the window. He didn’t spare a glance at his classmates, instead pulling out a notebook and pencil. Kanzakai High was one of the best high schools in the country, after all, and he had always been a diligent student.

Plus, looking down would allow him to dodge the looks he was no doubt getting from anyone who had seen his blunder outside.

The homeroom teacher walked in, a bored-looking man with bags under his eyes. In a monotone voice, he introduced himself as Mr. Aizawa and started roll call. At the call of “Izuku Midoriya”, he raised his hand and squeaked “H-here!”

And then he tuned out until - 

“Here!”

A familiar voice answered Aizawa’s call. Izuku’s jaw dropped as he found the source of that voice, two seats ahead of him.

The girl who had saved him earlier was in his  _ class _ \- 

And that was the fourth time his heart stopped.

He still hadn’t caught her  _ name  _ -

Roll call finished, and class started. Finally, something to focus on that wasn’t his pounding heart or overexcited nerves.

After class, there was a short period for the teachers to rotate.

The girl, of course, took that time to come over to his desk. Not that he noticed until she said - “Hello again!”

And that was heart stoppage number five. New record!

He sat ramrod straight, green eyes looking into brown. Luckily, she kept talking. “I’m Ochako Uraraka! Are you new? I don’t remember seeing you in middle school - I went to Endowa.”

Oh, here he was supposed to answer. Well, here goes nothing-!

“I-I-I’m Izuku M-Midoriya. Y-y-yeah, I went to A-A-Aldera Middle.” Holy whoa he was having an actual  _ conversation _ with a girl!

“Oh, okay! It must be hard, not knowing anyone here. Well, now you know me!” Her ever-present smile brightened, and his heart threatened to stop again. Luckily, he was saved by the next teacher walking in, but Uraraka left him with a parting shot. “Let’s sit together at lunch, okay? I’ll introduce you to my friends!”

There it was, number six. Hello darkness, old friend, he’d come quietly.

At lunch, he sat next to her. Seven. Other than that, though, it went well, all things considered. He managed to keep up an actual conversation, only devolving into rambling mumbles three times, and each time Uraraka would nudge him gently, making him flush and cut off mid-ramble. Net positive, in his view.

It helped that Uraraka’s friends were so amiable, too. Boisterous but straight-laced Tenya Iida was the perfect counterpoint to the quiet but thoughtful Tsuyu Asui (another girl!). Their easy banter was a thing of beauty to the friendless boy, even though he didn’t really join in himself. Uraraka noticed, though, and made an effort to try and pull him in. What an angel, seriously. He was almost glad he tripped now.

Oh, he hoped he didn’t say that out loud.

Lunch came to an end (too quickly in Izuku’s opinion) and classes resumed. Luckily, he managed to avoid any major embarrassment...at least until it came time to walk back to his apartment.

“Midoriya! Hey, Midoriya!”

Heart stoppage number eight came when he realized that Uraraka was calling his name, running after him. He had made a quick exit from class at the final bell; he knew from experience that sticking around usually led to embarrassment or torment. But today he stopped, waiting for her to catch up.

After she’d caught her breath, she exclaimed “You live down that way, don’t you? So do I! Let’s walk together!” All the while favoring him with that sunny smile; how could he say no? And so they walked together until an intersection about two blocks from his house; he turned right and she continued through.

But not before making plans to walk to school together the next morning.

He managed to get to his apartment before his heart stopped again. Nine. Hopefully that record would remain unbroken for a while, repeated cessation of circulation could not be good for his blood vessels…

* * *

And so Midoriya and Uraraka became friends, growing closer with every passing day, to the amusement of Iida and Asui. Hanging out at lunch, walking to and from school on some days, even Uraraka inviting herself to his apartment for a group project (that day he broke his record - 12 times!).

To the formerly-friendless Izuku, this was heaven, and Uraraka was his guardian angel. Being the analyst he was, though, he couldn’t help but notice something. A few things, really.

First, he never visited her apartment, although she had become a frequent guest at his. Not that he minded, really; being inside a girl’s house would probably end him on the spot. But it was still weird that she never offered.

Second, while they walked to school together every day, they didn’t walk  _ back _ together every day. Some days, she would text him (oh, did he mention he had a girl’s  _ number _ now?) and say that she was going to a club meeting. That would be a lot more believable, though, if there had been any kind of pattern to the days when he would get that message. As it was, it was essentially random, which was really no way for a club to operate, if you asked him. Also, on the days after those club meetings, she would appear especially tired. What kind of club would run that late? Or was she just catching up on homework?

And third, sometimes after those club meetings she would be nursing inexplicable injuries. Most of the time, they were light bruises that she laughed off as her being clumsy around her apartment, or cuts that she attributed to being careless with knives.

You’d think, though, that after the third or fourth time you “tripped into a table” you’d be a little more careful, or at least pad the thing.

All those clues pointed to  _ something _ , but he had no idea what, and he didn’t want to pry. But on the other hand, she was his  _ friend _ . He had to do  _ something. _

When he brought his concerns to Iida and Asui, though, they waved him off, saying that she’d been clumsy ever since they’d known her, and that their club meetings were based on some internet events that happened irregularly in America. They refused to tell him the name of the club, though, saying it was too embarrassing.

So her friends were covering for her. This only fueled Izuku’s curiosity more, but there was really nothing he could do at this point if his only leads were stonewalling him…

At least until one night, a couple months after school started.

Uraraka had walked with him to his apartment, citing an upcoming test that she really needed to study for, and he couldn’t say no to her. So they’d studied for a few hours, ordered some takeout, and studied some more until the sun went down. 

When it came time for her to leave, he saw her to the door, as usual. As she walked off, he sprinted back up to his apartment, as usual. He made it in time to watch her head to the intersection, as usual. A bit stalkerish, but he rationalized it away as being concerned for his friend’s well-being. Especially since there was a string of disappearances going on. Anyway, she turned right, as usual -

Wait, what was she doing? He was too far to see clearly, and it wasn’t like he was staring through binoculars, so all he could tell was that she started down the street, stopped, and then started running like hell back to the intersection, where she turned right and sprinted down the street, getting farther and farther away.

What the hell?

He whipped out his phone, sending a quick “are you ok?” text, but there was no response.

Okay, Izuku, don’t panic. There’s gotta be some reason that she decided not to head home and started sprinting down the street like she was running a race. He hadn’t seen anyone following her, so she was trying to get somewhere. And if he stayed here, he wouldn’t be able to follow…

A minute later he was sprinting down the street in the same direction she had been.

But as he ran, the world  _ shifted _ around him. The normally clear sky of Musutafu Ward thickened, forming a dense red fog. He could still breathe, so it wasn’t smog or some kind of pollutant, he hoped. Had Uraraka walked into this? He had to find her!

He pressed further into the fog, straining his eyes and ears. Should he call out for her? That would probably help, but the fog filled him with a sort of dread, giving him the distinct impression that calling out would be a  _ bad _ idea. Instead, he pulled out his phone. The screen was blank, but he didn’t remember turning it off...and as he mashed the power button, nothing happened.

A shiver went down his spine. Alone in this fog with no communication? But he gritted his teeth. Uraraka had to be here, somewhere.

And he pressed on.

As he did, he started hearing odd sounds. Animalistic growls and howls, the moan of the wind - although he didn’t feel a breeze. And the crunch and grind of two solid things coming into contact.

And he pressed on.

A scrape of metal on gravel, an animalistic cry of pain, and a voice.

“Release!”

Uraraka!

The road curved ahead, and as he followed it, a very strange scene came into view.

Ochako Uraraka, his friend and study buddy, was standing over a figure on the ground. In her hands was a huge sword that she had apparently stabbed into - what  _ was  _ that thing? He could make out wicked-looking fangs and a snake-like body, but it was constantly shifting, as if it was made of shadows.

Uraraka lifted the sword to rest on her shoulder. Oddly, it didn’t look like she was exerting any effort to swing that giant thing around - it was as tall as she was!

So she was going around into this red fog, stabbing shadowy snakes with a huge sword? Whatever Izuku had expected, this wasn’t it. This wasn’t it at  _ all _ .

Uraraka took a deep breath - she hadn’t noticed him yet. Neither had she noticed the mass of shifting shadows that coalesced behind her, slithering towards her with alarming speed - 

His legs moved on their own. 

At the patter of footsteps, she whirled, surprise on her face. “Midoriya? What are you-”

He wouldn’t be fast enough to interpose himself between the monster and the girl, so instead he dived, snatching the thing up and rolling with the momentum. It felt like it would slip through his hands any moment, but it apparently had a maximum length, as it tried to snap at Uraraka but couldn’t reach. For her part, the surprise dropped from her face, replaced with a calm focus as she brought the sword around and down.

“Release!”

The sword slammed down with unnatural speed, but the snake-thing wriggled out of the way just in time. The impact of the weapon against the ground created  _ cracks _ in the asphalt, but Izuku had no time to marvel at his friend’s strength - the monster had apparently decided to deal with the person hampering its mobility.

That is, it decided to turn and snap at Izuku’s neck.

With a shout of terror, the boy released the monster, crossing his arms in front of his face in a desperate guard and screaming again as the monster bit deep into his arm.

“Midoriya!”

In a flash, Uraraka closed the distance, swinging that giant sword as if it were weightless and beheading the creature. Izuku crumpled to the ground, nursing his wound, as the world grew fuzzy.

“Midoriya, stay with me!”

As the world slipped into darkness, his frazzled mind noticed a few things.

One, he wasn’t bleeding.

And two, Ochako Uraraka looked  _ really cool _ holding a greatsword.

* * *

_ All he could see was darkness, and all he could hear was silence. But he was standing, so he took a step forward, and found that he could move. He raised his voice, and found that he could shout. _

_ The shadows coalesced into a shifting, monstrous shape before him. All he could make out was a brutish head and a muscular body, humanoid one second and catlike the next, now a reptile, now a formless mass. There were spots of even deeper darkness facing him - malevolent eyes, too many of them, taking his measure. _

_ They found him wanting. _

_ He took a shaking breath, and found that he could scream. _

_ As he did, the monster advanced, crashing into him like a wave crashing onto the shore. His body stayed upright, but his spirit, his mind, his soul, all threatened to be swept away as the monster engulfed him - _

“Midoriya, fight it! Please!”

_ He clenched his fists, and found that he could fight. _

* * *

Ochako Uraraka was having a really bad night.

The day preceding it had been fine. School, lunch with Midoriya, Asui, and Iida as usual, and then studying for that hell-test with Midoriya.

She wouldn’t admit it, least of all to him, but the days when she could study with Midoriya were easily her favorites. Iida and Asui gave her knowing looks when she had inadvertently admitted that out loud once, but she had waved them away. She was fine just being his friend, she insisted, and anyway if she tried to advance their relationship he’d probably combust on the spot.

Anyway.

There hadn’t been a Night in a few days, and the full moon wasn’t for another two or so weeks, so she hadn’t needed to text about a “club meeting”. She felt guilty about keeping him out of the loop, but it was safer for him that way.

At least, that’s what she thought until she saw him sprinting towards her that Night, terror etched into his every feature.

“Midoriya? What are you-”

He had followed her into the Empty Night? Stupid, Uraraka, stupid - 

The boy rolled, catching the Void that had tried to attack her in her moment of repose. It dodged her follow-up strike and turned -

And her heart stopped as Midoriya screamed, the Void’s fangs biting deep into his unprotected arm.

The one thing she didn’t want.

But she didn’t have time to wallow in self-recrimination; she beheaded the beast and raced to Midoriya’s side, cradling him as he dropped to the ground and passed out.

Better get him to safety. She replaced the sword on her back, removed his gravity, and picked him up princess-style, blushing slightly but still focusing. She wasn’t too far from her apartment, especially if she took the side roads. Better make sure not to get caught flat-footed by any Voids again, though.

Power-boosted footsteps saw her down the street and through a nearby park.

They were about halfway there, still surrounded by the red fog that marked every Night, when Izuku started shivering in her arms. Startled, she looked down to check his condition, and her heart nearly stopped again.

“No, no, no, no! Midoriya, fight it! Please!”

But he couldn’t hear her as wisps of shadowy smoke lifted from his body and merged with the omnipresent fog.

This Void had bitten deeply - too deeply. If the soul’s Vessel cracked too much, the rush of power would forcibly transform the unlucky victim into a Void themselves. And as much as she didn’t want to admit it, that was what was happening to Izuku Midoriya, right before her eyes.

“No, please, Midoriya, you have to wake up!”

She willed her pounding feet to move faster, faster, using more power to speed her along. It would attract more Voids, she knew, but hopefully they would reach the edge of the Night before they attacked in force.

But what was she going to do once she got home, a traitorous part of her asked. She had no idea how to stop his transformation, and if he changed fully - 

She’d have to kill her new friend.

She blinked tears from her eyes. Faster, faster. Let the pounding of her feet drown out the thoughts in her head -

And then she saw him.

A gaunt figure emerged from the fog. Even from that distance, she could somehow see his bright blue eyes, gazing at her with a piercing stare. She couldn’t blame him, really; they must have made quite a sight.

Unfortunately, his focus on the running pair meant that he didn’t see the Void coming up beside him, preparing to strike.

Ochako ground her teeth. She didn’t want to stop, but she couldn’t let another person get attacked right in front of her.

So she applied a little force to the spots where she was holding Midoriya - just enough that he floated out of her grip, weightless, but still moving forward at the same speed. Then she drew her sword, making it weightless, measuring the angles in her mind. It was a good thing she’d practiced throwing things with her power, although she’d never done it at a full boosted sprint. But desperate times…

The weightless sword flew end over end, and at the exact right moment - “Release!” - gravity took hold, bringing it down and bisecting the Void before stabbing into the asphalt.

The gaunt man raised an eyebrow, but she barely noticed as she jumped to catch Midoriya and continue sprinting.

As she sped by, she didn’t notice the man pull the sword out of the ground.

The fog cleared, leaving the clear air and night sky as she pounded down the street to her apartment. She skidded to a stop, fumbling for her keys as Midoriya shivered and smoked in her arms.

“Please be okay, Midoriya.”

As she let herself in, she absently thought that this was the first time he’d been in her apartment. If only it had been under better circumstances…

She made her way to her room, laying Midoriya gently on the bed and releasing him. The expected nausea attacked her, but she forced it back, instead pulling out her now-working phone. She felt a pang of guilt upon seeing the first notification.

**LittleGreen:** are you ok?

He must have seen her run into the Empty Night and followed her. Of course he would, that caring, selfless idiot - 

She unlocked her phone and opened the group chat she shared with Iida, Asui, and a few others - all power users, all of whom were trying to defend Musutafu Ward from the Nights, and the creatures that lurked within. And a great job she was doing of that, huh.

Biting down on the self-loathing once again, she typed rapidly.

**Uravity:** investigated the night at noguri lane

**Uravity:** target not sighted

**Uravity:** but there was a complication…

Immediately, a response.

**Ingenium:** What kind of complication?

She stopped, choking back a sob. The kind of complication that could lead to one of her best friends getting killed. But before she could compose herself enough to write a response, the doorbell rang.

Who would be at her door this late? The only people who knew her address were the other members of the group chat, and they would have told her if they wanted to come over. She was tempted to ignore whoever it was and try to focus on helping Midoriya, but it continued to ring, disturbing her focus. Fine, she’d just shoo them away or something. It wasn’t like she had any idea what to do about Midoriya’s condition, anyway.

The peephole revealed the gaunt man she’d helped earlier, holding her sword. Oh. Right.

She opened the door.

“Good evening, young lady.”

“Uh, hi. Sorry about just throwing my sword at you with no warning like that -”

The man laughed, a deep rumble that seemed incongruous with his emaciated frame. “No need to apologize; it was a creative and skillful use of your power. I’m gratified to see that wielders like you exist nowadays.”

What did  _ that _ mean?

The man continued. “I would like to thank you, and I believe I know how. Where is the young man you were carrying?”

She looked at him with a more critical eye. Was she really going to let a random man that she’d never met into her house?

On the other hand, he was implying that he could save Midoriya. Or at least that’s what she hoped he was implying; she was well aware that in her desperation she might just be grasping at straws. But if there was the tiniest chance, she owed it to Midoriya to at least try, after getting him into this mess to begin with.

“He’s in my room. Follow me.”

The gaunt man dutifully returned her sword and they made their way to her room, where Midoriya was thrashing about in Ochako’s bed, that Void-like black smoke growing thicker. For a moment, the two looked at him, Ochako with fear and worry and the man with some emotion that she couldn’t quite identify.

“What happened?” he asked quietly.

“He followed me into the Night and grabbed a Void that was attacking me, but it bit him before I could kill it.” A pause. “I-I never wanted-” Her voice broke at that moment, and the tears threatened to fall, but the man put a hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t cry, young lady. It is all right now, because I am here!”

“W-what do you mean?”

“A young man fights a monster to defend his friend. A young lady cares for her injured friend while saving a stranger. I can’t let such spirit, such heroism, go unrewarded, now can I?”

And so saying, he advanced toward the writhing boy.

“Wait, what are you going to do?”

The man studied Midoriya. “Hmm, there has been a lot of damage to his Vessel. A slap on the back probably won’t be enough, but when he awakes, what a wielder he will be. Especially with you to teach him, young lady.”

In utter confusion, she could only get out a “Wha-?” before the man clenched his right fist.

“Smash!”

And punched Izuku Midoriya in the chest.

Ochako started forward, hands up and ready to send this crazy man into  _ orbit _ \- but lurched to a stop beside Midoriya when she noticed that he was no longer smoking. He had also stopped thrashing, instead lying still with beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“What did you-”

But the man raised a finger to his lips. “Ssshh, young lady. Let the young man rest. I simply repaired his Vessel.”

“...by punching him.”

The man shrugged. “Didn’t the first wielder awaken via a slap on the back?”

With that, he turned to exit, leaving the dumbstruck girl beside her feverish friend. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she followed him to the front door with one final question.

“What’s your name?”

“I have had many names, at least one of which you’ll likely figure out soon enough. But for now, I am known as Toshinori Yagi.”

Ochako bowed as low as she could, voice almost cracking as she said “Thank you so, so much for saving Midoriya.”

And with a smile the man walked out into the street, seemingly vanishing into the night.

* * *

Izuku Midoriya woke up.

He had nearly been overwhelmed by the monster in that weird dreamspace, but the sounds of voices - first Uraraka’s, then an unfamiliar man’s - somehow gave him the strength to resist and eventually drive the monster back. And once he had, he closed his eyes, and upon opening them gazed on an unfamiliar ceiling. The sun was just coming up, too, but the angle was all wrong for it to be his window - where was he?

He sat up and got his first surprise of the day - on the side of the bed was a mop of brown hair. He immediately identified it as Uraraka’s, and instantly his face reddened, vocal cords ready to scream, but he bit it back as he realized that she was asleep. In a rather uncomfortable position, too - like she had fallen asleep at a desk, except the desk in this case was the side of her bed. Ooh, her back was not going to be happy when she woke up.

Which would be now if he wasn’t careful. Carefully, slowly, he extricated from the blankets (she had space-themed sheets, so  _ cute _ -) and tiptoed out of the bedroom.

Uraraka’s apartment was small and sparsely decorated, one might even say Spartan. Her bedroom had had no posters, no knick-knacks or any of the random objects most teenagers tended to collect; just a bed and desk. The only sign of her personality had been the bedsheets. Similarly, her kitchen had the bare minimum of cooking utensils, although she did keep a well-stocked spice rack.

When he turned to the main area of the apartment, though, he stopped in shock. Couch, coffee table, small TV, those were all expected. What was  _ not _ expected were the various large swords hanging above the couch - was this why she’d never invited him to her apartment? From left to right, they increased in size from a bastard sword to ever-larger greatswords, but he only recognized one - the second biggest. It had been the sword she had used last night.

Last night - the memory flashed to the forefront, and he grabbed his arm fearfully, looking for the wound where the monster had bit him - but his skin was clear, unblemished.

What had happened?

He didn’t have time to think though, as a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind. His brain forced a reboot -this was, after all, the second time she’d held him like this, and the first time she was giving him an actual hug.

“Midoriya, you’re up! I’m so glad -” Her voice cracked, was she about to cry? Hurry up, brain -

Luckily motor functions came online quickly enough for him to spin in her grasp and embrace her properly. Unfortunately, this caused overheating in his cranial area, causing his face to redden once again and the reboot process to slow considerably. Case in point, his seeming inability to form words, or sounds. So they stood in that hug for an eternity to the nervous boy as the girl pulled herself together.

Finally, she pulled back and smiled sheepishly, saying “Well I guess I owe you an explanation, huh. I’m sorry for keeping this from you, but I wanted to keep you out of danger. Fat lot of good that did…” The self-blame evident in her words sped up his reboot - he couldn’t let her blame herself for his mistake, his uselessness!

“No no Uraraka, I’m sorry for following you! I just - I saw you running from the window and I wanted to make sure you were safe but I just put you in more danger - ”

She put her finger to his lips, causing immediate reddening (again). Her smile softened as she said “We can probably stand here apologizing for the next century, or we can sit down and I can explain what’s going on.”

“L-l-let’s do that!”

And so they sat next to each other on the couch, under the hanging swords.

First she told him the story of a vagrant who visited a village, and thanked the villagers for their hospitality by teaching them magic.

When she got to the part where the traveller slapped one of the villagers on the back, she paused, eyes widening, but continued before Izuku could ask what  _ that _ was about.

“Fast forward to today. In modern times, magic is more on the down low. Nobody’s going to go out in the middle of the Scramble and start levitating cars because they’d get arrested and turned into a guinea pig by scientists, or super soldiers by the military. But just because magic has disappeared, that doesn’t mean that magical  _ threats _ have.”

“The red fog and the monsters.”

She nodded.

“Every full moon, an incredible amount of magical power gathers somewhere in the city. I don’t know if it’s just Musutafu or other cities too, but anyway...that energy basically can pull people into a parallel world, filled with red fog and monsters that devour the essence of the universe:  _ Existence _ , or EXS.” She pronounced it similarly to the word “exist”, just without the last consonant. “Humans have more EXS than a rock, for example, so those monsters, called Voids, try to devour all the humans they can.”

“Which is why they were attacking you and me, and why they don’t just try to eat the world.”

“But here’s the weird part. Human EXS is stored in their soul’s Vessel, so a Void has to bite through that in order to get to your EXS. But the transfer is two-way: as your EXS flows into the Void, the Void’s power, called  _ Manifestation _ , flows into you. If you absorb too much, you-you’ll turn into a Void yourself.” She took a shaky breath. “But if you can control it, you gain the power to control EXS. We call that ability a Quirk, and those who have Quirks are called In-Quirks.” She stood up, pulling the sword she’d used the night before off the wall. It was obviously very heavy, but Izuku’s instinct to help was balanced out by a sudden certainty that if he flailed around like usual he would definitely cut himself on the blade, so he stayed seated.

“Quirks differ per person. I call mine Zero Gravity. Watch.” She held the sword out in front of her, two-handed, and then let go. Instead of falling to the ground, though, it stayed suspended in midair.

“Wait, holy whoa!” He was up in a flash, curiosity momentarily winning out over self-preservation. At her nod, he lightly touched the weapon, and it spun lazily in the air. “Huh, it did require commensurate force to get moving, so you’re not removing the mass, you’re actually just making it so that gravity doesn’t act on the item at all! Hmm, I guess that means you can’t actually send things to light speed but still, if you just threw it into the air it would end up in orbit! No gravitational potential energy means the escape velocity is zero! Wait no, it would just leave the planet because an orbit requires gravitational pull, so it would just keep going...wait, does it remove gravity with respect to just Earth or all forms of gravity? Maybe if you just left it and measured whether it pulled towards the moon or the sun-”

“Breathe, Midoriya,” Uraraka said, smiling. “And back up a little.” As he did, the hilt swung back towards her, and at the right moment she said “Release!”

And the weapon dropped into her waiting hands.

“And now the gravity is back! Oh man think of the applications, you can swing it up without gravity and then reapply its gravity for a really heavy strike, or you can throw things really far and get them to drop way more accurately, or or or you could fly!” He turned to her with sparkling eyes. “Have you tried removing your own gravity?”

By the look on her face, the idea had not in fact occurred to her. She replaced the sword on the wall and took a deep breath.

And started floating off the ground. Little jets of air emerged from her hands and feet to keep her stable, and eventually start moving in various directions. After a few seconds, the look of concentration on her face faded into elation. 

“I can fly! Thanks Izuku - uh oh crap - ” His face reddened, again, as they realized at the exact same time that she had used his first name. The embarrassment caused her to accidentally release her power, and she dropped a few inches. Right on top of Izuku, who flopped onto the couch under her newly-subject-to-gravity weight.

Luckily, before he could embarrass himself any further, she leapt off the couch and sprinted to the bathroom, from which he could hear the sounds of retching.

His mental reboot had completed by the time she came back, smiling sheepishly.

“Sorry about that. If I overuse my power I get nauseous, and I guess I reach that threshold faster if I’m lifting myself. I need to train more!” She punctuated that last statement with a raised fist and look of determination that threatened to stop his heart once again. “Speaking of…” She pulled out her phone, typed in a few things, and paused. “...I should probably explain this.”

So saying, she sat down next to him once more.

“As you’ve probably figured out, I’m not the only In-Quirk at our school.”

“Iida and Asui?”

“And a few more. We try not to all hang out together at school, just to make it harder for people to figure it out. Not all wielders want to protect Musutafu, after all - some just want power, and some want....something we haven’t figured out yet. So to help with the secrecy, we refer to each other by aliases in the group chat we have, as well as when we’re in the field. On that note, I have a question for you: what does Deku mean?”

At the sound of his childhood nickname, his eyes went wide. How did she know -?

“When you were...out, last night, I heard you muttering things like ‘I’m not useless Deku’ and the like.”

He sighed. “Well, my...friend, Kacchan, came up with it for me when he learned how to read - he was the first kid in my neighborhood to be able to. It means ‘useless’, as you heard. I-I was never really popular with the other kids, and Kacchan picked up on that and basically...turned on me. Made my elementary and middle school days...not fun. It’s why I transferred to Kanzakai.”

He nearly jumped out of his skin when she placed her hand on his leg. Luckily his reboot was quicker, having done it multiple times in the past hour.

“I’m so sorry, Midoriya. Well if it means anything, to me ‘Deku’ really gives me the feeling of ‘you can do it!’, you know?”

Izuku had had no idea that an internal paradigm shift could occur in such few words, but you learn something new every day, apparently.

“Deku it is!”

Surprised at his quick turnaround, Uraraka said “Are you sure? If it has bad memories for you we can come up with another nickname-”

“Nope! Like you said, it means I can do it right? What better name could I hope to have?”

After a moment, she gave him a smile bright enough to rival the sunlight streaming through the windows.

“All right! Let’s get you introduced!”

She typed a few commands and his phone buzzed. Oh, it was working now!

**Uravity** has invited you to group chat **M.E.Q.S.** Accept?

He thumbed the “yes” prompt with no hesitation, entering “Deku” into the name field. “Uravity, huh? I think it’s cute -” And he reddened when he realized what he’d said, as did she. Luckily, his attention was quickly recaptured by the messages that took up his screen.

**Ingenium:** Oh, thank goodness! We’ve been trying to reach you all night, Uravity! Please don’t leave us in the dark like that.

Uraraka looked guilty as she started typing.

**Uravity:** sorry guys

**Uravity:** this is the complication i mentioned last night

**Uravity:** we have a new member! say hello to deku!

**Ingenium:** Really? Welcome!

**Froppy:** Thanks for joining Deku

**Deku** : Thanks for having me!

**Q:** ooh ooh ooh a/g/l? measurements? maybe they can try that new baby i’ve been working on

Izuku mouthed, “baby?” She waved him down.

**Uravity:** we are not sticking him in any of your inventions before we even figure out how his exs works

**Ingenium:** Speaking of, are you two coming to school today? You’ll be late if you’re not already on the way, and speaking as a concerned friend, we must ever strive to find a balance between our schoolwork and our extracurricular activities!

Izuku has never been more sure of anything in his life than the fact that “Ingenium” is Iida.

**Uravity:** wait how do you know deku goes to our school

**Froppy:** tbh there’s a pretty short list of people who “deku” could be, and I think we all know who’s at the top

That would make “Froppy” Asui. Then who’s “Q”?

Uraraka blushed again.

**Uravity:** its fine ingenium, the test is next week

**Uravity:** so were gonna skip today, go to dagobah and train

“Is that okay with you, Midoriya?” He nodded.

“Then there’s one thing left to do to make it official! Oh, we might have to wait until we figure out what your EXS is, because we need to name it!”

“A-Actually, I think I have a name…”

His mind flashed back to the dreamscape he had been trapped in the night before.

* * *

_ He clenched his fists, and found that he could fight. _

_ But will alone was not enough to turn the tide, merely to keep him anchored. He couldn’t drive the monster back, nor could he be moved. It was a stalemate that could only be broken by outside intervention. _

“Smash!”

_ For a moment, there was peace. The shadow-monster was driven back, and a pillar of light coalesced into the figure of a man - tall, muscular, with piercing blue eyes and tufts of hair that stuck up like rabbit’s ears. _

_ The man spoke in a booming voice: _ “I am here, to assist in your awakening! Young man, you have spirit and will to spare. The question is, what will you do with it? Will you amass power for its own sake, for your personal gain? To reach a goal, to effect change?”

_ Izuku looked down at his still-clenched fist, remembering the fear on Uraraka’s face as he’d approached, the fear he’d felt as the monster bit him, and most of all the fear that had pierced through him when he’d seen that Uraraka was about to be attacked. _

_ The fear that someone he cared about would be hurt or killed in front of his eyes. _

_ A memory leapt to the forefront of his mind - “Are you okay, Kacchan?” _

_ That had been the start of the deterioration of their friendship; Katsuki Bakugou couldn’t stand being looked down on, even if he had only been looking down to pull him up. _

_ But he’d do it again, because after all, no matter the consequences, he didn’t need a reason to save someone. _

“I’ll save people” _ , he said. _

_ The man’s bright smile nearly blinded him.  _ “Now that is the drive I like to see! Where will your  _ Existence _ lead, I wonder? Just be careful, young man - sacrificing one for all is not the panacea it appears to be.”

_ With those parting words, the man disappeared, and the monster came crashing back in - _

_ But this time, Izuku Midoriya grit his teeth, and found that he could win. _

* * *

“You already have a name? Okay, go to the ‘roster’ channel and put it in!”

He dutifully tapped the link, reading the resulting page with interest.

**Ingenium:** EXS of Agility - Speed Star

**Froppy:** EXS of the Frog - Jiraiya

**Uravity:** EXS of the Cosmos - Zero Gravity

**Q:** EXS of Examination - Eagle Eye

**RedRiot:** EXS of Chivalry - Indestructible

And starting from that morning, another line was added to the Musutafu Extracurricular Quirk Squad roster.

**Deku:** EXS of Salvation - One for All

__


End file.
